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Iran has a direct route to send weapons and drones to Russia, - CNN

May 29, 2023

Iran has the ability to supply weapons, including Shahed type drones, to Russia via the Caspian Sea, which provides a direct route between the countries.

This was reported by CNN.

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As experts note, as cooperation between Moscow and Tehran deepens, the Caspian route is being used to transport drones, bullets and mortar shells, which the Russian government has purchased from Iran to support its full-scale military aggression against Ukraine.

According to monitoring data vessels in the region are increasingly going “dark” – suggesting growing intent to obfuscate the movement of goods, the publication says.

In 2022, data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence revealed a September spike in the number of gaps in vessels tracking data in the Caspian. That’s shortly after the United States and Ukrainian governments say Moscow acquired drones from Tehran last summer.

Russia’s use of Iranian drones increased in the fall, including against critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine.

“There is no risk to Iranian exports in the Caspian Sea because of the bordering countries – they don’t have the capability or motive to interdict in these sorts of exchanges,” said Martin Kelly, lead intelligence analyst at security company EOS Risk Group.

Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan are other countries with ports on the Caspian Sea and, the analyst adds, are "an ideal environment for this deal to meet no resistance."

Author – Anastasiya Glotova, 29/05/2023

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